Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 54055 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 270(@200wpm)___ 216(@250wpm)___ 180(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54055 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 270(@200wpm)___ 216(@250wpm)___ 180(@300wpm)
“What did he bring you?” Toni’s tinny voice echoed and I rolled my eyes and raised the phone to my ear.
“I’ll call you back Toni.”
She laughed again, loudly. “Alright, I want all the details.”
“Goodbye Toni.” I ended the call and turned my gaze back to Dante, standing in the hallway with an uncertain expression on his gorgeous face. “Dante. What’re you doing here?”
He sighed and then he smiled and sighed again. “Can I come in? Can we, ah, talk?”
Everything within me screamed no, told me to shut the door in his face and wait until Monday to deal with him. But when he stood there looking all beautiful and vulnerable, I couldn’t deny him. “Yeah, sure. Come on in.” I took a step back and waved him inside.
Dante looked around Toni’s place for a few moments before he turned to look at me. “You’re wondering why I’m here.”
“I am.”
He flashed a sexy grin and dropped down on the sofa. “I’m here for you Lucy.”
My heart raced at his words. I wanted to believe them. Desperately. It’s as if he was finally saying what I always wanted him to say. But, I was a big girl, and that kind of thinking was just fairytale nonsense.
“We talked about this, Dante.”
He shook his head. “No, you talked and I listened. I didn’t agree to anything.” His gaze was serious and that stopped any joke that I might have spit out to ease the tension.
I nodded and leaned against the wall on the other side of the room, leaving a coffee table and another sofa between us. “All right,” I sighed. “I’m listening.”
“First I want to start with an apology, because I owe you that, and don’t even think I’m apologizing for the incredible sex. I’m not.”
“Good to know,” I told him with a small smile.
He flashed a smile of his own. “You caught me off guard, a lot actually. Hell, maybe all the time if I’m being honest.” Dante raked a hand through his hair with a long sigh. “I didn’t know what to say, so I said nothing and let you believe the wrong fucking thing.”
I folded my arms and arched a brow. “What is the right thing?”
“I like you Lucy, and clearly I want you. But it’s been a long time since I’ve done this with a woman and I’m horrible at it.”
Dammit, why did he have to be so hot when he was being vulnerable?
“I know you wouldn’t hit on Alex.”
“You know that now, but at the time you honestly believed it.”
He nodded. “I did, but it had nothing to do with you, I swear. You have to understand Lucy that very few women are attracted to me for me.”
“You mean they don’t like you just because you’re gorgeous with a great body?” I found that hard to believe.
His grin split his face. “No. I mean sure that makes it easier to fuck me, but with my money and influence, those are always the main attractions.”
“So you believe that’s all you bring to the table?” I found that hard to believe too.
“No, but I think it’s what most women want from me.”
“Your ex?”
“Definitely. Only I didn’t realize it until she got pregnant. She started spending money like crazy, and then it turns out, she hated being a mother. Didn’t like the mess or the responsibility.” He laughed. “Even my money wasn’t enough for her to stick around.”
Damn, that was terrible, and my heart went out to him. “So we’re all guilty for her sins. Got it.”
There was a flash of temper before Dante leaned back against the sofa. “No.” He shook his head. “That’s not it at all. Like I said, I’m bad at this and I can’t seem to get it right with you Lucy. But I want to get it right. You’re worth it.”
I sighed heavily as my heart thundered inside of my chest at his words. No other words could have possibly touched me more than those three words. You’re worth it. Had I ever been worth it to anyone in my life? The answer was a simple, no, I hadn’t.
But here he was, Dante Rush, telling me that I was worth a guy like him making an effort to be better. “Dante.” I didn’t know what to say. My hands trembled and my legs wobbled as emotion clogged my throat.
“I know it’s a lot to ask Lucy, believe me I do, but I think we work well together. We shouldn’t, but we do.”
“You mean we shouldn’t because you’re a world class grumpy jerk most of the time?” I moved around the living room and took a seat at the other end of the sofa with my back pressed against the arm so that I could look at him.
“I guess,” he grunted.
I laughed. “And I’m entirely too chipper?”